Holi eve brings promise of treats

Red, orange and yellow won’t be just colours to play Holi with this season but delicacies to tickle taste buds.

A couple of city restaurants have planned mouth-watering treats fit for the festival of colours. Their motivation was to have a part to play in the residents’ revelry.

Popular chef Sanjeev Kapoor has handpicked treats for Patna residents at his restaurant The Yellow Chilli. Confectionery shop Sandwich has also planned sweet dishes made with pure ghee.

The Yellow Chilli has organised a Holi Food Festival from Friday to Sunday. Roomi Ekta, the director of the restaurant, said: “The master chef wants to celebrate Holi with everybody in the city and make the festival special for them. With this in mind, we have been asked to prepare delicacies such as mawa gujiya and thandai. We have been sent the recipes for these dishes too.”

He added: “To make thandai, almonds, cashew nuts, pistachios, melon seeds and poppy seeds would be grinded in to a fine paste with a little milk. Mawa gujiya would be prepared with desiccated coconut (shredded or flaked before being dried) and nutmeg powder.”

To make things better, thandai and mawa gujiya would be served free to patrons, along with gulal (colours). The restaurant would be decorated with colourful balloons till Sunday for the festival.

Ekta also spoke on the dish of the day during the festival. He said: “We have launched ‘Dish of the Day’ for every day. People would have the opportunity to enjoy special delicacies till March under this offer.”

He added: “The delicacies are a combination of chef Kapoor’s signature dishes and other popular dishes from across the country such as khurche murg teen mirch, railway mutton curry and stuffed tangri kebab.”

Sandwich’s owner Manoj Singh has also decided to celebrate Holi with the patrons at his eatery from Friday to Sunday.

Thandai and packets of gulal on offer at The Yellow Chilli in Patna. Telegraph picture

He said: “Pua and gujiya would attract guests to our outlet. To make the dishes popular, both of them would be prepared in pure ghee.”

Sandwich would also hand out free gulal to its guests on the eve of Holi, March 16. Singh said: “This would allow us to celebrate the colourful festival with every person — residents as well as those who come from outside Bihar. Many people visit Bihar during this festival.”